Development


Economy


Land Power


Naval Power


Magical Sophistication

The human culture revolves largely around the family. Everyone, even the commoner, kept a long list of ancestors and relatives, and apply to their own names a name denoting familiarity. The oldest male of the family is considered the arbiter to all matters within the family, and women suffer marginalization, such as restrictions from the army, higher positions in government, and the collegium of magic. A woman's collegium has been established, but has yet to be subsidized by the government. Beyond the family, the humans look to the city. The cities are considered glamorous and desirable, and many rural commoners would pay regular visits from their quaint homes to the bustle of urban life, almost as if a pilgrimage to imperial society. Cities are built around the forum, from which news is distributed and tribute collected. It is common for two cities to be rivals with one another, and this competition is in some parts encouraged by social and cultural norms. Furthermore, orcs flock to the cities, mostly from the inner isles, where they wish to escape the harsh persecution on behalf of the human-dominated higher society, or in the hopes of joining the legendary Cohorta Varacca.

Orcish society, meanwhile, does not for the most part respect family. The common orc treats their villages like family, and would commonly refer to elders as "uncle" or "aunt", youngsters as "nephew" and "niece", and their peers as "cousin". Visitors from other villages, however, do not receive this warm treatment, and are addressed by the more formal "signor". Strangely, both human and orcish societies are rather strictly monogamous. Orcs find it more difficult to distinguish between male and female, and thus don't place the same restrictions humans do on gender roles. Outside of their villages, the orcs find identity within their islands. Most islands, instead of housing a single sprawling city, keep many small orcish villages. Each island is ruled by a "doge", and the doges are assembled into the "Confoderatto di Varacci", whose leader is chosen by the vote of the doges to represent all the orcs in the human capital at Mirgamas.

Lately, whispers of discontent have been circulating the outer islands, as well as in the rural arid portions of the mainland. Both of these factions would have the separation of humans and orcs, but keep themselves under wraps. The vast majority of the army, as well as the current majority of the higher governmental positions, fostered by the watchful eye of the king, support unity. However, if the rumors are true, sentiments are changing, and the kingdom may find a rebellion on their hands.

The religion in Imasicia has two major roots. The first comes from the pre-imperial faith of the Imasicians, an animistic faith which kept and appeased many spirits of the natural world. They believed that spirits lived within great bodies of "untouched land", including forests, deserts, lakes, oceans, and plains. When a living creature dares step foot within these lands without the permission of the spirits, they are cursed. Thus, it is said that the worshippers must declare contracts with the spirits, most commonly in the forms of ritual sacrifice. In exchange for these sacrifices, the worshippers may take the resources given by the spirits, such as wood, water, and land. Because little effort was given by the Imperium to convert its far-flung populace, the imperial faith did not take hold in the Imasician populace.

The other source comes from the traditional faith of the orcs. Unlike the humans, the orcs looked to the sky for their spirits, believing them to reside within the stars, the clouds, and the sun. Indeed, the early orcs were much more eager to exploit the land than their human counterparts. The sun was especially important to orc worship, and orcish scholars have suggested that at one time the sun was regarded as less a spirit and more a god. The orcs also keep heavy faith in prophecies and blessed bloodlines, and believe that a time will come when a great leader shall be descended from the sun to unify the people. Orcish faith syncretized incredibly well with the human faith during the pre-conquest and early conquest, and both cultures would pay similar dues to spirits of both earth and sky. However, differences in the practice are beginning to arise due to the racial tensions.

The Cohorta Varacca keep strange cultural practices, suspicious to both human and orc. The Cohorta is an orcish society, living in cultural enclaves within large cities across the mainland. They have also been granted tracts of land by the king, and thus could be argued are the largest and most powerful village of all orc-kind. They are a cross between a village and a military order, and the two methods of entry are to be born into it, or to join. Every single orc, regardless of how they entered, are trained to a razor-sharp discipline to fight and die for the king. Any dissent or weakness is brutally put down at the point of a sword.

What makes the Cohorta so strange is their odd interpretation of religion. The Cohorta believe that the Sumtagus family is the saoshyant figure of the prophecies, and therefore revere him alongside the sun. Thus, they engage in selective breeding practices, choosing for straight backs, height, and hairlessness, in the efforts of inheriting human-like characteristics, in the hopes of emulating the Sumtagus king. A Cohorta orc, unlike a native orc, is nearly the height of a human, just about straight-backed, and only grows hair where it would be common for a human to. Therefore, they are regarded with revulsion by their native cousins.

The Imasician humans keep two names, a family name followed by a personal name. The imperial citizens were said to have kept three names, but Imasician culture dropped the first name even before the empire fell. However, it is customary for scholars and magi to style themselves with a "G." preceding their names, as an homage to the traditional style. Orcs, meanwhile, are more nuanced about their naming conventions. Common orcs are raised by the community, and care little about parentage or family. Thus, they keep two names, both of which are given. Orcish nobility, on the other hand, do keep to families, and keep two names, a given name followed by a family name, denoting the island over which their families hold power. Orcs raised to a scion of a noble family often abandon their second given name in favor of their doge's family name.

6,000 years ago:
The earliest form of Imasician civilization organizes into tribes and petty kingdoms, war with each other is common. The early civilization is beneath the notice of human powers.

5,000 years ago:
Powerful family, possibly mythical, whose name is lost to history, unites the tribes into a single confederation, declares himself king, and establishes contact with its more established neighbors. Quickly replaced by a second ruling family.

4,700-4,500:
Contact is established between the distant yet rising Imperium Hominum and the nascent Kingdom of Imasicia, centralization practices of the Imperium are adopted by the kingdom. Serious trade is established between the Imperium and Imasicia.

4,500-4,000:
A series of subjugation wars occur between the Imperium and Imasicia. In most cases, the Imperium doesn't directly step in, but rather encourages rebellions in discontent nobles and commoners, who rise up against their masters and pledge themselves to the Imperium.

4,000-3,700:
A series of unstable successions, in no small part supported by the Imperium, lead to weak central power, and as the kingdom begins to collapse, the king swears his allegiance to the Imperium in order to preserve his control. Imasicia becomes a client state.

3,700-3,300:
Imasicia becomes aware of the Old Empire to its southwest. The first forum is built in the capital village of Comorriga. Imperial culture rushes into Imasicia.

3,300-3,100:
War breaks out between the Imperium and the Old Empire. Imasicia raises its banners in support of the Imperium. Imasician patois comes into common use, and imperial writing is adopted.

3,100-2,900:
Old Empire temporarily subjugates the kingdom of Imasicia. Imasicia rebels. The imperial legio style of warfare is harmonized with the existing method. Imasicia proves itself incredibly capable in combat, and throws off Old Empire rule. New family rises up to declare themselves king.

2,700-2500:
Imasicia once again officially kneels to imperial rule, after an interregnum period of unstable succession and a power struggle. New family rises up to declare themselves king. First collegium of magic is opened in Comorriga. It accepts both sexes, but later restricts women.

2,500-2100:
Mad King Bacchus rises to power. He declares autonomy from the Imperium, and raises the Imasician army to invade the Old Empire. He manages to capture a few border towns, but without the support of the Imperium, his army is shattered in an attempt to invade the heartlands. Comorriga is burned to the ground, as well as other cities. Imasician society regresses to warring tribes, nominally in service to the Imperium.

2043-1701:
The Imperium Hominum declines and collapses. Warring tribes migrate eastwards, eventually unified by the Sumtaga family. Finally lands along the eastern coasts.

1701-1605:
New city is built, Mirgamas, in the style of the Imperium. The collegium is reopened after a long period of cultural regression. Imasicia reestablishes itself as a centralized state. Imasicia begins trade contact with the local populations, the Varacci.

1605-1493 (1605-1562) (1556-1498)
A series of wars waged between the Kingdom of Imasicia and the orcish doges brings the islands under the control of Imasicia. The inner islands fall first, they having organized raids against the mainland, as was common between the orcish islands. Imasicia retaliates, subjugating the inner islands. The remaining orcish doges assemble into the First Confoderatto di Varacci.

The Confoderatto attempts an invasion to retake the inner islands. They are successful at first, but they quickly fall to infighting. Imasicia returns, and defeats the Confoderatto at the Battle of Sendimenti. Guido di Sendimenti, realizing his island would be destroyed should he fight for the Confoderatto, swears loyalty to Imasicia. The First Confoderatto is destroyed.

The Second Confoderatto assembles swiftly, in response to hostile actions by Imasicia for portions of the outer islands. The Second Confoderatto is far more unified and organized, and repels the Imasician attacks for a while. Imasicia adopts orcish tactics, and assembles the Cohorta Varacca and the Marino system. Both are successful in countering orcish efforts. The outer islands are subjugated.

In the age of the old kingdom, Imasicia primarily bartered in wheat. Only the upper class even saw gold, which was most often traded for land by the nobility in bullion form. The Imperium's dominion, however, changed the function of Imasicia's feeble economic system forever. They introduced the coin, which was adapted into the Imasician solidus, as well as the trade guild. The king continues to emulate the fallen Imperium's model of economy, with a centralized tax plan and an emergency bread dole reserve.

Army:
The army of Imasicia is, like much of its culture, a rich blend of pre-imperial and imperial policies, to form one of the most formidable armies on the continent. It is often said in folk rumors that the human side of the kingdom is descended entirely from imperial warriors, having retreated too far from the borders after a defeat. This rumor is both a source of pride and of determination in its human participants, and while largely debunked by historians, continues to serve as a powerful motivator for the land forces.

The core of the foot army consists of heavily armored legionarii, dressed in much the same armor as they would have during the imperial age. Segmented bands of metal, along with massive shields and spathae, make them already impressive, but it is the iron discipline within its ranks that truly sets it apart from any enemy it faces. Only veterans may don the armor, and the weak are not taken lightly. Supporting the legiones are the new recruits, relegated to skirmishing until they have had the honor of serving in battle. These forces are used to scout and harass the enemy force before being met with the legio proper, and are thus less well equipped. They are protected with a more modern development, the chain mail, and given a small round shield to defend themselves with, as well as a shorter sword. However, their primary purpose is slung around their backs, a quiver of javelins to throw into enemy lines.

Unlike the foot soldiers, which may be levied from all ranks of society, cavalry is restricted to those either of high birth or have served within the government. It is customary for lowborn government officials to be granted a horse by the king, which they would use in battle. The horsemen fielded by Imasicia are not heavy, but are no less tough. Even the young nobles are quickly informed of the importance of discipline, as harshly as is necessary. The horsemen are armored in gambeson and armed with both arrows and spathae, and thus serve diverse roles as harassment, flanking, and pursuit. The pride of the Imasician cavalry, however, are the king's personal guard, elite archers on elephants chosen from the best marksmen in the kingdom. The elephants themselves are trained to charge into closed ranks, crushing them and allowing for the legiones to enter the gap.

Orcs are common in the army, though rarely serve as legionarii. Most often, orcs fight in their traditional manner, as shock troops and surprise units. Orcish armor is not provided by the state, but often given by their local villages, and consists often of a traditional orcish spada da lato, thick gambeson cloth, and a parma shield. The orcs of the Cohorta Varacca are said to fly into a fierce rage in battle, taking extreme delight in the blood spilled and cleaving with reckless abandon through an opposing force. Indeed, many orcs are taken in, so much that the discrimination so prevalent in many circles of human culture are just about nonexistent in the army.

Navy:
The navy of Imasicia is not quite as impressive as its army. The Imasician navy is largely reserve, with few standing military staff consisting mostly of scouts and patrols. The vast majority of the navy is drawn from the orcish populations of the islands, oftentimes hardy sailors and fishers who may quickly put down their regular duties and take to the sea in service to the crown. The backbone of their forces call themselves "marini", and orcs tend to take pride in their service. Humans do participate in the navy as well, but usually as coastal guard for the mainland provinces. Unlike the army, the navy is very strongly steeped in prejudice, and it is common for ships of one race to forbid the fielding of the other on their deck. The ships fielded by the navy tend to be repurposed fishers and transport barges, and thus are unable to travel far outside the Varacci archipelago.

Imperial Heritage: Alongside many human cultures of the continent, the Imasician humans are descended from a great empire of antiquity, once having had the ambition to unite the entire human peoples under its banner. While the empire, along with its name, has been lost to the passage of time, its spirit lives on very strongly within its people. The humans still speak a patois of the imperial language and the pre-imperial language, and its subjects are still expected to speak both fluently. Imperial ideas of organization, warfare, culture present themselves as aspects of modern Imasician life. Finally, the throne of Imasicia still keeps a secret ambition towards its neighbors, in the dream of one day bringing those banners from the dead and once again spreading across all humankind.

Two Worlds: The society of Imasicia is divided sharply down the line between land and sea, between human and orc. Once one leaves the temperate coasts of the Imasicia mainland and travels to the island, one might as well have entered an entirely new world. Gone are the mighty and imposing cities of boxy sandstone, away are the sweeping deserts and grasslands, dotted with trees. In its place are inviting near-tropical islands, with swaying palms, nestled around red-roofed villas and palazzi. The change is so drastic that anecdotes from natives claim to feel a change within themselves as they pass an invisible line dividing the mainland from the islands. It is commonly held by the mainlanders that the humans who live on the islands act more orcish than human, and the reverse opinion is held by the orcs of their mainlanders.

Culture of Vengeance: While the humans and the orc cultures differ on many matters, there is one on which both agree. Vengeance is both tangible and exchangeable. It is widely thought by historians that the idea of vengeance being such a tangible force comes from the age of the early kings in Imasicia, going back before the imperial annexation. The pre-imperial religious practices of both cultures placed heavy emphasis on like returning to like, and encouraged for its adherents to make it so. Thus, both human and orcish peoples are perfectly capable of carrying grudges their entire lives, as well as inheriting and passing on their own from ancestors to descendants. In fact, centuries after the Imasician conquest of the orcish islands, many still do harbor resentment against the modern-day king within the far islands.

Surabhumi: Sworn enemies
Sanghara: Sworn enemies
Arcana: Friendly but wary
Drakon: Brotherly and protective
Allemagne: Sworn enemies
Imperator Iulianus: Brotherly, with disagreements
Kipchak: Circumstantial allies by treaty
Akumori: Circumstantial allies by treaty

Land Area: 12
Land Fertility: 10
Development: 15 (-2)
Land Power: 20
Naval Power: 9 (-8)
Economy: 8 (+4)
Magical Reserves: 10 (+5)
Magical Sophistication: 20 (+6)

Army

Navy

Development

Economy

Magic

SPECIES-
The Sanghar are a humanoid, bipedal race of usually red skinned peoples, notable for being one of the three races created by the Ashammai precursors along with the Surabhi and the Tu’mong. They are a tall, lithe, pantherishly agile people who commonly reach six foot in height, with eyes that vary from blue, orange, purple and gold. Their hair is usually white and their heads are crowned with a pair of velveted red horns, which emerge from their foreheads. Asides from this, the Sanghar have two other distinctive features, their commonly aquiline noses which forms something of a common trait, and their prehensile tails which they use to climb and balance themselves, as well as sometimes a pseudo “third arm”. Unlike the Surabhi the Sanghar’s gender balance is roughly equal, and in fact physically the two genders are fairly similar in terms of build and strength, with only marginal differences between them depending on hormonal development during adolescence - There is uncertainty to whether this was in response to, or prior to, the creation of the Surabhi. Indeed, some Sanghar thinkers have hypothesized that the weakness of the Surabhi males may have been deemed “inefficient” by the Ashammai, hence resulting in a change in their experiment.

A sub-group of amphibious Sanghar known as the Sargael are also exist within the empire, being notable for a minor - and since mended - schism that divided them into independent realms across the small islands surrounding Shanrilaath. It is believed by Sanghar thinkers that the Sargael were an attempt to improve on the sea-faring Sanghar by the Ashammai, but their amphibious nature proved more of a hindrance than a help. These Sanghar share many of the same features as the main Sanghar population, albeit with blue skin, milky opalescent eyes, webbed feet and hands, more antler-like horns and a more aquatic ridged and finned tail. Hybrids of the sub-race and the main Sanghar often result in individuals known as “Saltbloods” which share variable features of both ethnic groups - most commonly blue skin and webbing. This is the extent of their interbreeding however, as Sanghar cannot breed successfully with races beyond those created by the Ashammai, having been made genetically incompatible so the precursors could keep a tight leash on their experiment. Some success can be made with ritualised magic to create artificial hybrids, but it has been discovered that the features of one half rapidly diminish with each successive generation. Sanghar hybridisation with the Tu’mong results in Sanghar genetic traits being naturally dominant, and with the Surabhi it is dependent on the mothers race.

Beyond the Sanghar and the Sargael populations, The Sangharan Republic is home to almost every race of the known world to some degree. Due to having economic connections across the globe, the merchant quarters of most cities are abuzz with a multi-ethnic admixture of peoples of all walks of life, each bringing their faith, customs and language to Shanrilaath, and officially supported by the Grand Republic’s legal tolerance of such individual freedoms. Humans, Surabhi and Tu’mong however tend to be the most numerous of these groups due to the closer interaction they share with the Sanghar, militarily, culturally and economically. Populations of Sangharized Surabhi and Tu’mong are particularly common, their highly integrated populations clustering together in small - and sometimes large - communities. Often times they can be told apart from mainland Surabhi and Tu’mong via the tattoos they wear - in the Surabhi’s case, three tiger stripes on each cheek - and are commonly involved as much as the Sanghar in trade, diplomacy, warfare and communal life. Tu’mong however are more conservative than the Sangharized Surabhi, much like their mainland cousins, and keep marriages within their enclaves in order not to disappear.

As a result of high living standards and the universalisation of certain branches of magic in everyday life, it is not uncommon for noble Sanghar to reach their nineties or become centenarians if not killed by magi-plagues or war. Some, such as the Dakatha live for even longer, extending their lives through occult means for hundreds of years - although this requires decennial rejuvenations to maintain, and can have an degenerative effect on the mind for those not strong of will. In general, without artificial mental degradation, the Sanghar tend to age quite gracefully, assisted by cultural paradigms that support physical fitness even late in life.

OVERVIEW-
As a nation born from was once part of the largest and most powerful empire on Takanis, the Sanghar naturally have a rich and vibrant culture and society stretching back nearly half a dozen millennia. Across the vast coastline of the smoking volcanic isle of Shanrilaath loom hundreds of ancient cities, opulent and imperial in their splendour, with towers and pyramids of basalt dominating their skylines and mighty walls covered in painted bas-reliefs of Ishareth’s children, enclosing cities who’s roofs gleam in shining brass scales. People of all races and nationalities swarm the ports, bringing goods of ivory, amber, magic crystal and furs from the distant north to exchange for sapphires, tiger and lion skins, or purple dye and spices from the humid coast-land plantations of Shanrilaath, the wild jungles of the interior, or the dark halls of secretive alchemists.

In Sanghara, innumerable festivals light up the night on any part of the island with song and dance, pleasure houses crowd the avenues of trade and see to every need a visitor might indulge in, and swaggering bravos in patterned silk finery challenge each other in public displays of prowess with their kris knives. In the halls of the great temples dedicated to Ishareth - their mother goddess - strange purple fires are piled high with aromatic herbs and sandalwood, overseen by unaging priests in white robes, who call voices out of the flame that throw their congregations into silently mystic ecstasy. From the seas come sleek black prowed vessels, carved in faces of the goddesses kin and served by salt-flecked, hardened mariners, who bring back trade and pillage from distant shores and fatten the coin purses of merchants. Across the craggy coastal cliffs, a network of silent midnight pagodas lie ready to call in great smothering mists to enshroud the isle, a matter that has deferred invasion many a time in the worst ages of the Century Wars.

To visit Shanrilaath is an experience in a nation rich in custom and tradition, smoothed into broad tolerance and acceptance by a millennia of exquisite wealth. One would be a fool however, to say that this decadent display has weakened the Sanghar in any meaningful way, as their nation has outlasted far more austere civilisations, and endured cataclysms that would make the latter crumble into powder. Hard, battleworn faces mix without conflict with those of easy living on their isles, and the spectre of war is never far away with their looming titanic rival to the north. The age of Shanrilaath’s golden years have been long diminished after the collapse of their mainland territories one and a half thousand years ago, but they are not gone. So long as Shanrilaath lives and breathes and trades, the Republic will always find new and innovative ways to restore itself.

Until then it awaits, patiently, for the return of its true and primordial splendour...

GOVERNMENT-
The Grand Republic of Sanghara consists of a hundreds of semi-autonomous city states and provinces, each dominated by ruling families and unified by a bicameral national government called the Dakathan Senate and the Provincial Assembly. Although the heads of these families usually remain in the city to oversee direct administration of family affairs, each major house sends a delegate elected amongst their members to attend to the matters of state in Ivory Palace at Tel-Shanraath - named as such due to the Octagonal palace the senate meets in, which is held up by eight great granite elephants and which holds hundred-and-thirty mahogany and hammered ivory thrones, representing a single delegate of each ruling family. Here the great families of the republic guide the destiny of the Sangharan nation, voting in matters of government, administration, commerce and legislation across the republic and its provinces. Amidst these halls political parties are founded and flourish, old orders grow and decline, and the ruling powers dominate and scheme amongst private cliques of ever-changing alliances. To become a first citizen, and thus gain a vote in the central affairs of the Ivory Palace, one must travel a difficult road filled with pitfalls and traps laid by the Dakatha princes. Although not cut-throat, Sangharan politics is filled with manipulations and scheming on an economic level, and the elites are rarely willing to share in their power with glorified upstarts. For a family to take a seat of its own - of which there are but one hundred and twenty - it must either dethrone an existing dynasty or become a force too powerful to be denied. For most, the former is more common than the latter, and the last time the Senate has grown in number was seventy years ago. The latter also comes with formidable risks, as to threaten the powers-that-be without rebuke, one must be a mastermind in schemes, bribes, extortion and force. Many a upstart lord who imperiously thrust his way to power this way has been dethroned and left dead, bankrupted or broken when they grew too threatening to be tolerated. The only exception to this deadly game of machinations are the tens seats permanently delegated to the Temple, representing the leading High Priests and Priestesses and consorts of the Shanrilaath Orthodoxy. Those that play the game soon learn to avoid raising the ire of either the priests or their perfumed courtesans, as they are well known to be as deadly as they are seductive, and hold a terrifying amount of power amongst their secular contemporaries.

The most common way to enter the running for the senate is to found a powerful merchant family, and dominate trade and industry in a city or region. Commonly these are in regions dealing with specific goods and materials, or tied into the trade networks and posts that develop wherever the Sanghar settle. Colonisation and the construction of new cities can well make a family if one is canny enough to subjugate or bankrupt all opponents, and with colonisation rights naturally comes an increase in squabbles amongst the lower nobility of the Asurbaal over this opportunity. Others create their wealth through the construction of merchant fleets for shipping or warships for battle, and some in forging and leadership of armies on land, or equally in the supplying and equipping such armies. Once their wealth is established in such a manner, the family will have doubtless forged its way far above the provincial gentry of the Asurbaal. Upon achieving this, two powerful symbols are necessary to establish them as a ruling dynasty, education in the mystic arts - which raises them to the status of Dakatha - and the construction of an immense step-pyramid to display the families wealth and power. The resources and wealth necessary to access the black pagodas and obsidian pyramids of the magi, as well as the decade long construction of such a monument to ancestral power, is the final barrier to the rise of interlopers. Many a family has tried to rise to such heights only to bankrupt themselves in the attempt - although new families are quick to utilise the foundations of what they built to attain their own supremacy.

For most part however, the would-be princes of Sanghara content themselves with the more achievable power of the Provincial Assembly, which belongs to the landed gentry of the Asurbaal. Here they oversee regional and provincial legislation, and debate regional laws, tariffs and taxes not important enough to garner the notice of the Dakatha Princes. Although of less sweeping a nature, this lower senate sees over much of the essential administrative, bureaucratic and legislative processes of the republic, and can be a easy avenue to power… if one knows how to play the game of politics. Unlike the upper senate, the seats of the Asurbaal are rarely static or few in number, and thousands of families contest and argue over how their small corner of the republic is governed. Sometimes the Asurbaal have banded together to oppose the Dakatha Senate when the need arose, challenging the very powers that be for governance of the Republic, although usually this is in the face of outrageous ovesteps. More often they bicker and factionalise between themselves, kept to being - and denigrated as - the “lords of small matters” by those above them.

Finally there are the City Forums, assemblies of the most notable citizens of each city or independent town/province that assemble to elect representatives from the powerful families of the region, and examine public and economic matters for their state. The ruling family naturally has a permanent position of power within these proceedings, and thus substantial weight, but the elected officials and representatives of the city can both influence and put pressure them for certain motions or laws to come into effect. The amount of control each family has over the City Forums varies from dynasty to dynasty, with some representing more of a sham government and others being more diverse and vigorously engaged in the cities politics. The City Forum furthermore cannot be easily ignored, as many dynasties have found their downfall by pushing the citizenry too hard and causing riots and insurrection. In general, most families try and stick to a mid-ground, appeasing their citizens somewhat whilst keeping their own financial and political interests well in hand.

The final actor in this stage, and perhaps the most notable is the office of the First Prince. Elected amongst the Dakatha for life, they represent the republic on a national level and are considered the leading voice of the Dakatha Senate. The position however, is of variable authority when it comes to controlling the disparate ambitions of the ruling families. Although given respect, specific privileges and the authority to speak above all others, little actual power is gifted to the First Prince. They only represent the “first among equals” not a president or king who can dictate terms. Many have used such limited power - as well as their immense wealth, influence, subterfuge and charisma - to make them the true voice of the nation, and a powerful force to be reckoned with. Just as many however, have become little more than a rubber-stamp to the authority of factions and cliques, incapable of making the ruling members of the senate bend to their authority. To truly rule from such a position, one requires a masterful touch and the strength and political acumen to enforce it.

CASTES-
Sangharan society is built on a semi-flexible hierarchical structure which allows for some level of social mobility amongst the ruling and governed classes. At the top are the Dakatha, the richest, wealthiest, oldest and most influential families who often trace their bloodline down to the first settlers of Sanghara. There are the main governing citizenry of the empire, consisting of the first among equals in all matters, and it is uncommon that their numbers ever change. To be Dakatha, one must become what might be best described as a polymath, mastering to some degree financial, political and military matters. Most important of all - and what divides them from mere nobility - is the intense training they receive in the sorcerous arts of magic and elder learning. The Dakatha are above all sorcerors first, and politicians second - although many would argue that such a division in itself is unnatural - and imbued with power in both physical and mystical realms. Due to the immense amount of capital - and pre-existing privileges such as literacy and political station offer - only very few enter the black pagodas of the magi to be initiated. The process can take as long as five years to complete, and few but the rich or independent are able to stay away from matters of everyday life long enough to be made a member into that order. The majority of the Dakatha are biomancers, but many also practice other schools of learning, such as weather magic - the summoning of winds, mists etc - or darker, more forbidden arts. All are trained in a unique form of defensive hand to hand combat which allows for the deliverance of killing blows using their sorcery, although it is uncommon for such magic to be used except in the direst of situations. The Dakatha occupy the upper chamber of the bicameral senate, essentially deciding the vast majority of pressing matters in the chamber of the Ivory Palace of Tel-Shaanrath, and serving as the electors and councillors of the First Prince - a figure who is nominally “first among equals” but ultimately represents such an immense array of commercial, political and military interests that he is able to exert vast power over the nation.

Asurbaal follow next as the second major class of Sanghara, consisting of what could be said as being the landed gentry of the nation, and representing its agricultural and military core. As few of them are rich enough to acquire an education in magic, they remain as a secondary power block within the empire, although still accorded much deference as well as political power through the Provincial Assembly. Although denigrated as the “kings of small matters” the Asurbaal oversee much of the minutiae of the administration and governance of the empire which often escapes the notice of higher powers. They also serve as the second deciding vote, if the Dakatha Senate cannot decide on a particularly contentious matter. Asurbaal supply much of the heavy cavalry and elephant riders of the empire, and thus are an elite block to any Sangharan army - especially with their access to prize armour and weaponry as a result of their wealth, freeing them from less high quality munition fair. There is thus sizeable overlap between the Asurbaal class and the Subaal military class, and it is not uncommon for them to utilise their war experience to further long held political ambitions and rise in status amongst their peers - or become Dakatha themselves. Asurbaal also account to a lesser degree maritime and merchant affairs, - although nautical expeditions are invariably lead by the family of the Dakatha due to their frequent mastery of windsinging - and thus there is some overlap with the Ūdarpresh when merchants become rich enough to enter their numbers. Nevertheless it is an expectation - and most often a reality - that the Asurbaal come from agricultural landowning stock.

Ūdarpresh, the merchants and traders, and Hazarpresh, rural farmers, labourers, artisans and craftsmen naturally represent the common man or woman in Sangharan society, consisting of the vast stock of the population of the Republic. They are not truly enfranchised on a national level, instead making their demands known locally through elections and pressure in the Dakatha dominated Public Forum, and have a lesser legal position under law and justice. Nevertheless as a result of the states immense riches, their lives are far from “nasty, brutal or short” and they mostly live in relative comfort - especially the rich merchant Ūdarpresh caste who’s money is often made from their spice and silk plantations and trade ships. Both furthermore consist of the majority of the Subaal military class - as well as in the case of the Hazarpresh, raw labour for the corvee system - being essential to the growth and survival of the empire. Like all other classes, both use military recruitment as a chance for social advancement and are eager to acquire enough riches and land from their service to be raised to Asurbaal status. Some of them even do, although it is uncommon, but even a moderately successful campaign can make a rich city magistrate of a subsistence farmer - if he doesn’t die first. Ūdarpresh are the natural commercial lifeblood of the empire, ensuring the traffic of goods in and out of the empire in their sleek, well built and handsome boats. Ūdarpresh also have some greater level of soft power in the Public Forums, being able to pressure for changes as part of guild blocs and frequently being sought after for commercial support for ambitious Dakatha - with trade concessions invariably following. Of all the classes likely to consistently rise in station, the Ūdarpresh stand the best chance of achieving that goal - assuming they can outlast their competitors of course - although the Hazarpresh often rise to become local Asurbaal, filtering their money into land purchases and founding massive and prosperous estates.

The final class is the Yuzhat, the slaves of the empire. As the Sangharan’s are mostly supported in their construction requirements by a vast supply of cheap labour from free men and women, slavery is mostly reserved for domestic or specialist service. Slaves are taken through two means, the first by “honest combat” where a defeated opponent who has taken up arms against a Sanghar is made captive in battle. The second is through purchase via intermediaries, with the presumption that the first matter has been attended to. Although the Sanghar raid, they do not enslave or kidnap civilians indiscriminately as it is seen as unvirtuous to brutalise an unarmed opponent who offers no resistance. Only those who fight - and who are captured in doing so - can be legitimately taken as Yuzhat. Yuzhat status is not necessarily seen as a permanent thing in Sanghar society, instead being considered as a debt of payment for harm caused to the Sangharan Empire, or blood labour. The standard number of years of service is considered to be five, with those with notable records for brutality or fierceness towards the Sanghara having their terms extended proportionate to the damage they cause. Many legal protections exist to ensure that unnecessary cruelty is not observed by the masters of the Yuzhat, and it is not unknown of for a Yuzhat to bring a master to court for their callousness - if still uncommon due to societal norms. Although subservient in position, being Yuzhat can also offer a great deal of opportunities due to their direct connection with the households of the affluent. Although often domestic or pleasure slaves, it is expected that a master give patronage in return for service through providing education in literacy, scholastic or physical pursuits as to best utilise the skills of their servants.

Thus service can as often be voluntary as much as it is a result of captivity, allowing peoples of lesser rank to rise in stature and access pathways of advancement through educational provisions. Yuzhat who bear children in their service will not have their status effect their newborns, who are in turn considered born free and of their fathers/mothers household. Such children are not seen as a matter of disgrace, and are raised of almost equal status with their trueborn Asurbaal or Dakatha kindred in all things but succession, which follows a line of tanistry - the first wives children will inherit in preference over others. Still it is natural that they receive all the support, love and education necessary to have a long and promising life. After their years of service are completed, the Yuzhat are given their freedom and two options to choose from; to stay in Shanrilaath, being provided lands and money suitable to ensure a life of comfort, or to take a ship to the mainland and return home across the sea. Although it is not uncommon for the latter to occur, it is surprisingly frequent that the former is chosen, as conditions, life and opportunities are often better in Shanrilaath than they are on the frequently war-torn mainland. Some even remain as paramours or as High Yuzhat wives/husbands of their former masters, and as such the Sangharan Republic has a surprising amount of ethnic diversity amongst its citizenry in the cities, as well as - to a lesser degree - the rural areas of the island.

RELIGION-
Much like the Surabhi and the Tu’mong the Sanghar follow a branch of the Isharethi religion, although divided from the latter too in terms of doctrinal interpretation of Ishareth’s scriptures. Historically the Sanghar formed the most notable early cults of monolatric worship of the goddess, but historical fragmentation makes the exact nature of the Ishaethi peoples religious redirection ambiguous. The worship of Ishareth as a goddess - as well as her divine counterparts - can however be said to pre-date her current congregation extensively, extending back to the Ashammai creators over six thousand years ago, and perhaps even further to a possibly neolithic origin amongst Pre-Ashammai peoples that inhabited what was to become Tsang-Mah, Ditadisha and Odhisa.

The Sanghar, like the Surabhi and Tu’mong continued to worship their adopted and loosely knit Ashammai religious pantheon long after the Ashammai’s fall. They knew no other gods, and so it endured unspoiled and unhindered across the post cataclysmic period. The doctrinal challenges have only come relatively more recently, beginning five hundred years after the foundation of the Old Empire, which saw a obscure period of religious change known as the Zakurad Reformation, followed by the victory of Isharethi monolatrism among the Sanghar and Surabhi. The Tu’mong however did not experience this reformation, and instead continued the pre-existent religious practices with their own smaller alterations, although their religious heartlands diminished to Nam Leng as the Old Empire grew more powerful. Eventually as thousands of years passed, the two religious communities that occupied much of the Old Empire’s population slowly began to diverge in their interpretation of the holy scriptures, ritual language, rites and Vedas of their faith, which saw slow but increasing ethnic tensions as the Old Empire began to disintegrate. With the destruction of the seat of the Old Empire’s core, the simmering religious dispute came to a head in the fractured and leaderless provinces of the empire. The two religious factions broke into discord with one another over their long-standing doctrinal disputes, which invariably lead to the emergence of Sanghar and Surabhi orthodoxies who no longer accepted the wholesale validity of each others scriptural interpretations. Further divisions would divide the faith in later centuries, with the Tsathic Heresy in Tsang-Mah, the rise of the Gorgothic Law and the Lengi Restoration in Nam Leng and elsewhere.

Shanrilaath Orthodoxy which is predominant in the Sangharan Republic is usually regarded as the oldest and most sensual and extravagant main branches of the faith, and is thus the object of many fantastical rumours in the wider world. Whilst nowhere near the scale of decadence rumoured, Shanrilaath Orthodoxy is a highly permissive religion when it comes to amorous relations, and celebrates its festivals in a highly elaborate and luxuriantly public manner. To the Sangharans, Ishareth is the goddess of growth and renewal, conflict and knowledge, and her bounty must be publicly celebrated to show their appreciation of their goddess. Festivals are thus organised at the beginning and end of each year to celebrate Ishareth’s gift of life to Takanis and the favour she bestowed upon the Republic upon its colonisation of Shanrilaath. Although all sects of the Isharethi faith acknowledge the existence of other gods, most agree that as the mother of all things, Ishareth is the goddess most interested in earthly matters - and in the Sangharans case, believed to be the one most likely to intercede in those affairs. Sangharans thus pray to Ishareth at her temples for success in their endeavours of commerce, diplomacy and travel, offering tribute in return for her blessing for their expedition. Far more rarely, the Sanghar call upon Ishareth in times of war to turn the tide against their enemies, but this is seen as a desperate and most dire act, as causing the deaths of her children is considered an anathema for the goddess.

Tribute is traditionally given to temples and shrines to the goddess, and if a family becomes rich and powerful enough, they may erect statues and monuments to exult her glory and display their dedication to her tenets. These offerings are frequently laid out before towering semi-humanoid statues of Ishareth in the temple nave, or cast into the pyre of eternal purple flames positioned at the feet of the goddesses statue. The construction of a temple ziggurats is considered a particularly worth opportunity to gain her favour, and thus many dynasties eagerly scramble to fund these elaborate religious projects. The process of creation and artistry in general is also seen as a virtue, as it is interpreted as mirroring the creative nature of the goddess as she populates of the world with life. Ishareth amongst craftsmen is thus also seen as a goddess of inspiration and their muse, and often these groups establish their own private shrines to her for each guild of artisans, as well as the source of the Sangharan’s highly decorative artwork.

Education is also regarded as an important religious matter, as it is through the understanding of the Vedas that Ishareth’s will may be manifested and a virtuous life followed. Although the priestesses are naturally regarded in experts in this field due to their lives of scholastic study, it is expected that each child should at least understand and be able to read the basic scriptures of virtue written on the pillars of the Sanghar temples. Temple Schools are thus distributed evenly across the rural and urban areas of Shanrilaath to provide education to the masses, although quality varies depending on the wealth of each episcopal see and its interest in funding its sub-temples. At least a third of Sangharans are fully literate, with another twenty percent displaying at least partial literacy, proving the success of their efforts in such matters.

Magic, much like amongst the ruling class, is deeply entwined into Sanghar religious beliefs and customs. All forms of magic practised by the Sanghar naturally find their origins amidst the Isharethi Ritual Vedas, which provide guidance on its use and function in manners pleasing to the goddess, and education purposes that permeate even in the secular environments of the black pagodas of the Dakatha. Although far less cautious than their Surabhumi counterparts, Sangharans generally prefer to follow proven techniques rather than unguided experiments, and thus excessive and incautious magical rituals are deeply frowned upon as unpious and unwise. The Temple also provides one of the few ways to gain an education in magic for Sanghar of poorer backgrounds - although a far more conservative one than through secular education - and has been known to jump=start Dakatha temple dynasties amongst cunning individuals, passing over the necessity for immense wealth usually integral to access to higher learning. Thus it is that much like the Surabhi’s martially inclined clergy, the Sangharan priests are often highly well trained and versed figures in ritual magic, contributing to the defensive bulwark of Shanrilaath and a levy to call upon in an hour of need. Rare has it been that ever this has been necessary, but it has occurred, the devastation wrought by the rituals of the priesthood has often been catastrophic.

Lovemaking and pleasure are far more integral part of Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy than other branches of the faith, as Ishareth is seen as a passionate and creative mother goddess to her children. Procreation and sexual intercourse - heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual included - are thus seen as healthy and welcome parts of everyday worship, and prostitution is regarded as a respectable and holy profession. Indeed, the Temple across the centuries has managed to monopolize the business of prostitution in each city of Shanrilaath, putting the profession under the regulated administration of the faith, and which provides a substantive part of temple income for upkeep and construction works. Most temples however, maintain a substantial part of their infrastructure towards more contemplative and meditative means of worship, and such shrines to pleasure usually have their own temples interlinked with the rest of the religious estate. Temple prostitution is considered exceedingly banal to most Sanghar, and it is with some bafflement that they view the shock and horror of more puritanical peoples on Takanis, as they have little understanding of the purpose of such reinforced celibacy. The prostitutes of the temples come from a variety of backgrounds, the majority of which consists of captured Yazhat (50%), but a not insubstantial minority consists of freeborn Sangharans (45%) and foreign naturalised citizens (5%). Duties can differ extensively, from those who serve in the pleasure houses with their bodies and advertise the temple, to those that provide entertainment and cerebral discussion in dance, song, poetry and legend, to consorts who serve a select few clients and function as much as advisers and scholars as they do lovers and partners. Indeed, the consorts much like the high priests and priestesses of Ishareth have access to the magical arts and their study, and form a powerful bloc in internal struggles of the temple hierarchy. Lovemaking as finds expression in religious and secular art, being the frequent topic of sculpture, bas-relief work and murals, although usually in the context of their surroundings rather than randomly scattered across the cities.

Temple hierarchy is divided on Shanrilaath between a Pentarchy of High Priests and Priestesses, which form a council to decide theological matters relating to the Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy. Nominally these Priests and Priestesses are of equal position, but the reality is that the Pentarch of Tel-Shanraath holds predominance as first among equals in religious affairs, a situation which emerged primarily from the diminishing of Sanghara’s continental empire and the disappearance of all but two of the republics mainland Sees in Kushaninka and Tsang-Mah - and the complete obsolescence of another three from the original “Thetarchy”. Now an uneasy balance exists between The Pentarch of Tel-Shanraath and the smaller surviving Pentarchies of Tel-Belit and Tel-Zulbazzar, who struggle to remain independent of it. The Order of Consorts, although only in the last several hundred years, has also managed to acquire a seat in the Pentarchal council, and so unofficially their number could be said to be six rather than five. Below that, temple hierarchy is more horizontal in nature with priests and priestesses roughly sharing equal status, although the prosperity of their religious demesne can play a lot into creating artificial notions of “greater” and “lesser” priests. This has resulted in the emergence of Metropolitan priests and priestesses of the cities of Sanghara, which oversee the wealthiest and most extensive religious sites of the republic and have considerable sway over their surrounding rural clergy. A good number of rural temples however are wealthy enough to challenge this predominance, and it looks to be assured that a new order of powerful priests below the rank of high priest will eventually emerge.

Organisationally, beyond the immensely ornate Temple-Palaces of the Pentarchs and the Great Temples of the Sangharan cities, the faith is distributed by a number of pseudo-monastic schools scattered across the countryside, providing amenities for the rural population of Sanghara. Although priestesses and priests do not have the same polymathic nature as their Surabhi contemporaries, the foundation of these communities by the priests, their companions and acolytes ensures an even and standardised distribution of religious and secular skills across a region, and a focal point for communal life. In turn for a tithe of produce or services to maintain the monasteries upkeep, they provide for the medical, religious, magical and educational needs of their surrounding villages and document romantic joinings - the Sanghar have little understanding of marriage in the human conception - and births for government census. the monasteries are thus more often or not, small evenly distributed communities of healers, priests, educators, scholars, craftsmen and printers to provide all manners of expertise necessary for country life.

The monasteries also are an ample source of literature thanks to the spread of woodblock printing through the Sangharan empire since its inception, providing a valuable source of local archives and information for research and educational purposes. These books are stored in specially built shrines designed through magical and architectural means to maintain stable low humidity and temperature in order to protect them from rot and damage, with special adjoined reading rooms for older texts, for it is not uncommon to encounter books that are centuries old in storage. Bi-centennial reprintings in the Grand Libraries of The Pentarchy ensure that the redistribution of knowledge remains universal, inhibiting - but not completely removing - the possibility of information loss. Outside of serving their local communities, the monasteries use a network of paths and riverways to communicate with one another through scholastic discussion, ensuring that new ideas and concepts do not remain regional in nature for long, and making sure innovations spread across Shanrilaath. Although the majority of these monasteries are small in nature and fairly rustic in amenities and dependent on the Pentarch’s interest in funding them, some have grown to enormous stature and wealth, and thus attracted large communities of scholars to their halls. A good number of these challenge the Black Pyramids of the Dakathan scholars, and there is some inter-service rivalry between the two groups, with both parties developing factional philosophies and outlooks on science, scripture and magic.

Sculptural depictions of Ishareth often show her in two forms, an amorous flying entity, consisting of pale wings surrounded by fire and with burning eyes across her form, and a more humanoid form consisting of a statue in the proportions of a Sanghar, with nude body with birds feet, covered by a flowing robe, and her eyes and upper head hidden by six wings. Depending on the purpose of the shrine the symbols in her hands may vary, but she is always either enthroned or in a standing position.

ARCHITECTURE-
Sangharan architecture consists of three general stylistic groupings; firstly the vernacular styles developed during the first colonisation of Shanrilaath, secondly the temple architecture created with the emergence of Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy, with the final style consisting of Republican Monolithic that emerged just prior to the first Century War. All architectural styles tend to utilise local Shanrilaathi resources, consisting of punice, basalt, palm frond thatch, hardwoods, bamboo and volcanic concrete. Most rural houses are built in the vernacular style, structures perched on stilt like legs with overlapping thatched roofs that shoot into the air like the prows of ships or the horns of cattle, creating high roofs and halls in which the inhabitants dwell, and which protects them from poisonous snakes and flooding. The more grand and elegant of these are built from teak and ebony, and carved in elaborate patterns, bas-reliefs and bright paints, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and glass, and with multiple overlapping prowed roofs. Others take the form of palm thatched beehive huts, commonly seen in clusters along the Sangharan coastline as fishermen paddle out in small boats to take advantage of the rich source of fish found off the coast of Shanrilaath in the Ebon Sea. Still others consist of stout grounded houses with towering roofs and small, thick stone or wooden legs, often used in areas of high earthquake activity.

In the cities of Sanghara things take a different approach, although often using the same principles with high roofs and elaborate designs. Built from heavy polished basalt, most houses in the cities are highly ornate and interconnected with city services, having access to piped water and joined with the cities sewer systems. In contrast to many other cities, Sangharan cities tend to be relatively clean as waste which cannot be disposed of directly is collected and delivered by carts to dumping grounds outside the confines of each city, traveling along paved paths of granite. Richer and more prosperous neighbours will also feature private baths fed by networks of aqueducts, and have roofs of beaten copper, polished an gilded wood and orange lacquered scales. Gardens and parks - ostensibly built to “clear foul vapours” - separate districts and create a decentralised plan to most cities, although quite pleasant living conditions as well as meeting places for public forums and trade. The use of volcanic concrete and basalt is a very common building material, providing good security from the occasional earthquakes that result from Shanrilaath’s volcanic activity, and who’s non-pitting surface provide easy to clean for garbage collectors and mages of the guilds of city hygiene.

The central feature of all Sanghar cities however is the Great Pyramid and the sub-pyramids that dominate their skylines, the symbol of the Dakatha dynasties power and influence. In this the Sanghar nobility are split into the schools; the wide base school - in which the pyramid is not a towering monolith of the skyline but instead spread a massive palace complex lengthwise - and the narrow base school - in which the pyramidal palace cleaves the skyline like a mountain. The former provides greater space for ease and leisure, but is neither as visible nor as dominant a symbol, and the latter is forced to give up its wide gardens and many luxuries for a more compact and tower-based level structure. Although these styles may be based on philosophy and temperament, they more often correlate to sheer necessity and available space within the city in which to build them. The largest of these pyramids is found in Tel-Shanraath, which is formed on a combination of both styles and which towers one thousand feet into the air to be shrouded by wispy morning mists, its bands of orange and purple split by larger bands of pale-white lime plaster. Most cities also are surrounded by three walls, a holy number associated with the three races of Ishareth’s blood, and consist of massive ornate affairs designed both to hold out invaders and impress those that walk under them with their immensity and strength. Designed to withstand brutal siege from land or sea, the walls are built of granite, concrete, basalt and rammed earth and fitted with giant bas relief’s of “The Great Children” of Ishareth which void boiling tar on the besiegers. Intermittently, the walls are lined with immense Elephant Gates - named after their main statuesque feature - which are so broad that if needed, they could march armies in rows eighty men long through their looming brass clad gateways. Much like with the pyramids, the largest and most numerous of these city walls is in Tel-Shanraath, which has nine walls that encompass a population of one million and two hundred thousand inhabitants.

TERRITORIAL CLAIMS-
The Sangharan’s control several continental enclaves on the mainland, as well as the massive volcanic island of Shanrilaath as their current territorial extent. Beyond this, the Sangharan’s claim much of the mainland including Tsang-Mah, Muhtava, Kushaninka, parts of Ditadisha, Odhisa, and Jatapu as their rightful and sovereign territory - it having consisted of the Sangharan state’s core provinces prior to the first Century War - and thus the territorial boundaries of “Greater Sanghara”. Sanghara also makes claim over much of the Eastern Ishkadian Sea and its scattered islands as the extent of their sovereign naval domain, although this has neither been colonised nor even completely explored by the Republic.

Link To Sanghara and Link to Greater Sanghara

ECONOMY-
The Sangharans are renowned across much of the known world for their skill and expertise in matters of trade and economics, having long made themselves totally unexpendable in trade of spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper) animal products (tiger and lion skins, crocodile and hippo leather, elephant hide and ivory and exotic birds) silver mining (with subsidiary markets in gold mining) Precious stones (most notably sapphires, but also other precious jewels) slaves (an import market, with expensive and stringent exports) and silks and dyes (particularly a unique and secret trade in a dye of unfading purple). The Sangharans only have a monopoly on a few of these exports - most notably the spice and dye trade - but generally have strong influence in the other markets due to close management of their resources and the sheer quality of their workmanship.

The Sangharans maintain this dominance of the market though a variety of factors, namely though a mixture of exclusive distribution of the products if they have a monopoly, providing the highest quality variants of said good, or by undercutting other sources in price an distribution. Being a naval society with extensive links to the sea and oceanic traffic, they are able to spread their economic weight across much of the known world and ensure that they, and not others, remain the most viable exporters of their goods and services. This has also extended into protracted economic warfare with several nations, such as the Surabhumi and to a lesser degree, the Dragon Empire of Nam Leng, when others have attempted to challenge Sangharan sea power. So far the Sangharans have maintained their influence over merchant traffic across the seas of the world, but the potential for new contenders is always on the horizon, leaving those wise enough to see it to wonder how long the Sangharan trade empire will last.

The Sanghar of Shanrilaath also commonly engage in proto-banking, providing loans and financial support for many noble families, monarchical dynasties and republican leaders both home and abroad. The most powerful of these is the Bank of Tel Taramat, although not as financially influential as the Marble Bank of Arcana, it nonetheless is dominated by the Nachamenzzar banker dynasty, who use their own private navy to enforce the repayment of their loans, with the threat of assassination, covert funding, pillage and war being the due of any who default. This in turn ensures favourable trade conditions for the navy, with the supported dynasties naturally giving favourable trade terms in return for Sangharan financial support.

Another aspect of Sangharan trade is in the secret development and spread of Sangharan Purple, an unfading and magically sourced type of dye which has given colour to the ruling dynasties clothes, pyramids and even sometimes their ships. This form of purple is formed out of a mixture of chemical changes with magical input, and thus requires a steady flow of crystal to keep production at maximum, necessitating trade with crystal rich nations such as Caelrumoste to ensure stable exports. The technique for creating such a dye is a deep secret held only by a handful of highly secretive sorcerer-alchemist dynasties, and which can only be taught by one of their number - the secret being passed unwritten from master to student. More than one would-be thief has attempted to con the masters out of their secrets, but so far none has been successful, and those thieves lie now with throats slit unmarked graves, or torn apart by demons of the upper air for their own grave errors.

The wild resources of Sanghara are also meticulously managed to ensure continuous distribution. Teak and other boat woods that are cut are replaced, the skins of animals collected are kept within a certain level to ensure a stable population is maintained, harvesting oyster beds, coral reefs and fish migrations are kept to within acceptable limitations through national legislature and village tradition. This economic balance is designed to ensure not necessary to maintain maximum profits, but to ensure that Sanghara never lacks for resources. Disruption to this balance in the past have resulted in economic downturn and reduced the diversity in local profits, creating decades of political chaos. Thus Sanghara is vigorously and legalistically managed along this system, which has naturally evolved over the course of centuries to its current form. What domestication and Sanghar management can be achieved has also been attempted, ensuring further preservation of pre-existing ecological environments.

For all that, the primary source of Sangharan wealth and prosperity is primarily spice trade. The spices rule social life in Shanrilaath being involved in all aspects of trade, farming and industry, and access to the commodities of coffee, mahogany, maize and peppers on the mainland is hotly contested between the three main Isharethi races. Vast spice plantations, fuelled by the fertile volcanic earth of the island and watered by immense aqueducts and ancient planned systems of irrigation, provide for the massive export economy, the fields tended by Yazhat and Hazarpresh alike and sent across the world from coastal metropolises by swift teak and red sailed ships. This has resulted in two necessities, the first being that Sanghara controls the seas to properly monopolise on their direct trade, and the second being a tight and brutal grip on spice plants. Many in the past have tried to steal the source of Sanghara’s power and success, much like the secret and exorbitant trade in Sangharan Purple, but only bleached skulls raised on bamboo pikes speak of their unremembered stories. If the control of either the sea or access to the spice plants failed, the core of Sanghara’s economic security would be shaken to its foundations, and lead to a general decline of their own power.

ARMY-
Although the Sangharan military is not a disrespected order of profession for Sanghar of all castes, it has never been the Republics strongest suit, and has lagged behind the immense naval capacities of the nation. Nevertheless over centuries of war and combat with the Surabhi it has honed its craft to a fine point, and now presents a formidable - if definitely not indefatigable - opponent on the continental mainland. Funded by the state coffers, the Republic’s military is by all measures a standing army, consisting of one hundred and seventy thousand soldiers, of which forty thousand are cavalry and charioteers and ten thousand are elephant riders. This force is further augmented by a stream of mercenaries brought in by Sangharan coin to fight on continent, drawn as far and as wide as The snow-covered Mornlands half a world away to earn wealth and glory in the continuous wars of the Sanghar and Surabhi.

However, despite supposedly representing the nation as its own standing army, the Sangharan military is primarily controlled and lead by its most direct funders - the Dakatha dynastic families. As such, the nobility is generally the preferred leadership of most military forces rather than the supposed semi-meritocratic principles laid out in its founding, the result being that personal ambitions naturally influence the direction and conquest of new territory. The twin headed serpent banner of the Republic might fly highest of the flags overhead, but the sub-banners of dynastic houses give a clearer indicator of the true power behind any of the Sangharan army. The national needs in times of war are thus invariably tinged with the scheming of those who wish to create dynasty, riches, fiefdom and glory for themselves.

As with any standing army, the Sanghar support it with extensive proto-industrial factories and national run monopolies designed to keep it equipped and fighting ready. This can be as complex as creating steel scale and plate to armour elephants, siege engines to topple cities, and powerful magical artefacts, to as simple as the forging of spearheads, leather bags and nails for the common footsoldier of the empire. Other industries focus on the training of warhorses, elephants and in some cases, war lions and tigers, which are telepathically bound to lesser mages in order to wreak havoc amongst enemy lines. Rations are provided by a network of dynastic farmlands chosen via an intensely scrutinized state lottery to provide a steady stream of dry provisions for their soldiers - a monopoly that can make or break a dynasty - and the transported via carts built by cartwright guilds across uneasy terrain of much of southern Vendhayatha.

Organisationally the magocratic institutions of the Republic transition across to their military ranks. Dakatha and their sorcerous kin thus occupy the highest authority, forming the generals and division commanders of the armies of the Republic. This is followed by the mages of the main army who provide magical support and communication during the march through enemy territory and during the battle itself, and then the Asurbaal who consist of the cavalry, elephant riders, charioteers and many of the commanders of segments the main army. The artillery, heavy and light infantry and light cavalry form their own cores underneath this sprawling network, lead ostensibly by Asurbaal and Dakathan leaders. Auxiliaries and Mercenaries exist outside this military strata, and are instead lead by their own chosen commands, so long as they’re able to follow the commands of the Sangharan generals.

Armour consists primarily of scale, chain and leather forged on mass to provide for the soldiery, and crafted individually for the noble and mage classes. With the light infantry of the Sangharans the most common armour is a type of light lamellar of lacquered leather reinforced in core areas with iron platelets, laced together through cord to create a semi-flexible wrap around their body. Greaves and braces follow the same pattern with iron banding hidden underneath iron plate, and a helmet follows an sculptural snarling lion or tiger design, with a veil of iron scales and with a plume of colourful feathers at the top, their colour denoting rank. An undercovering of sometimes silk, but more often less expensive fabrics are worn underneath to dull blunt damage, with wide flaring trousers tied up with ankle bindings being common, the former often in bright and colourful patterns. The usual arms for the soldiery are a large diamond shaped and embossed shield, hardened by bands of metal, and which provides adequate cover from which to thrust out with a sturdy flame-bladed tombak or lunge and hack from with a golok. In general, the armour is considerably lighter than their continental Surabhi counterparts, as it has been designed to be utilised onboard ships as well as land, requiring increased mobility as a result.

Heavy infantry and cavalrymen tend to wear more elaborate versions of this standard equipment, with gilded helms and armour and usually featuring faceguards crafted in semi-realistic depictions of Sangharan features, or mirroring an aspect of Ishareth’s Great Children. An undercoat and lacing of padded silk is also very common, allowing for increased mobility as well as blunt trauma and arrow protection. Brightly painted and gilded armours, along with metal and feather quills or plumes are used frequently to mark out commanders, and the scales of their lamellar are of higher quality - being produced out of steel rather than iron like the common footsoldiers. Cavalry also have marked differences from the heavy infantry in this regard, their armour being refitted to suit mounted warfare and thus being more cumbersome on foot, although enabling - depending on squadron - increased defence in charge or mobility whilst firing bows. The use of Tiger and Lion skins is also common as a final headpiece, particularly among the Lion Guard which utilise it as a badge of office to their elite station. In terms of equipment the heavy infantry heavier and longer goloks for close combat with broad rectangular shields, marching in close formation to brace against Surabhi charges. If they are disarmed, they will draw upon their kris knife as a secondary weapon, which can give vicious and fatal gouging stabs with it’s flame-bladed edge. The cavalry in turn use tridents and lances to break their enemies formation, and the horse archers and foot bowmen utilise a primitive type of compound bow to fire further and more powerfully at their opponents.

NAVY-
The navy is the pride of the Republic and the very embodiment of its thalassocratic power in the Old World. The Sanghar have sailing and ship-building in their blood, - quite literally in fact - as a result of being designed that way by the Ashammai precursors to serve that function as a racial caste, with trade, sailing and wanderlust hardcoded into them. As a result, their skill at shipcraft is matched only by the rare few, and often never to the same level of versatility the shipyards of Shanrilaath are able to engage in. Sanghara’s navy consists of three thousand warships of three main types, the first being the sleek and brass-scaled two decked Dragonships which flit across the waves like birds on the wing, with fluttering red sails that bring a crimson dawn to their opponents. This is followed by the midrange three decked Black Nagas who’s thick teak beams and reinforced prows crush boats and launch scorpion bolts and Sanghar fire from their decks, and the giant five decked Djong Fireships, covered in glimmering plating and giving broadsides of Sanghar fire that can immolate entire ships in one salvo. Crewed by dozens or hundreds of Sanghar, this swift fleet dominates much of the coasts of Vendhayatha and the Ebon Sea and furthermore protects commercial shipping flowing east and west, north and south, from pirates and other such dangers. The largest of the Sanghar ships used for both war and commerce are the vast partially aeolipile-powered black Treasure Djongs, project both Sanghara’s financial and military might abroad, and indulge somewhat liberally in gun-boat diplomacy with any who would dare challenge them, providing the flagship for any martial or trade fleet of substantial size.

Any Sanghar who manages to claim a captaincy of even a single vessel in the Sangharan fleet naturally enjoys great privilege in society, and is made for life, so long as they do not squander the opportunity. The Republic - always eager to maintain the loyalty and security of their essential trade lanes - lavishes high pay on their mariners, with substantial rewards and acclaim always pouring from their hands and lips to the navy. The Admirals of any fleet are so well paid that they would be self-made Dakatha if they did not already primarily come from established bloodlines, risen partially through the ranks by family influence - although not without sufficient experience in command being proven prior to doing so - and interlinked with the vast commercial network the Sangharan’s oversee.

Besides the quality of their boat building - primarily made out of teak and hammered wooden dowels in most cases - which allows for sleek and hardy craft to brave the waters of the world, the key to Sanghara’s supremacy on the waves is their use of Sangharan Fire. Sangharan Fire is a type of pyrotechnic fuel launched via siphons from the decks of their ships to engulf the enemy in unquenchable, furious flames. The creation of the product is a secret only the guilds of alchemists know for sure, but is known to be a partially magical based substance which much like Sanghar Purple requires a constant inflow of magical resources to produce. Rumours of blood sorcery and dark otherworldly communications are said to occur in the dark vaults of the alchemists, creating through malefic occultism a weapon that explodes on contact and melts flesh and stone like tallow. Due to it’s volatility the substance is kept deep in the hulls of the ship in immense hardened copper vats, only opened to acquire further ammunition for the Sanghar’s decks of semi-mobile fire siphons, trickled into brittle clay pots prior to battle and thrown upon the enemy, or attacked to scorpion bolts to explode on impact. Due to the dangers of the material the decks of the Sanghar vessels dealing with it are often covered in sand and brass plating to ensure that they too do not go up on flames from it use, and complex countermeasures of cooling frost wards are sometimes used to control the blaze for a time.

The mariners of the Sanghar tend to move about their ships mostly unarmoured and bare chested, and armed only with kris blades or other short weapons tucked into a voluminous sash of coloured silk. However when in battle munition and personally forged armour is garbed to ensure further protection during battle. This type of armour bears many resemblances to the armours of Sangharan footsoldiers, although is ostensibly designed to be lighter and even more mobile than even that, focusing more on leather than iron plating and ensuring the wearer can navigate tight spaces - and if called upon, swim - with little issues in mobility. Goloks and light crossbows are also common fare along with the kris knives, providing a withering barrage of slashing, piercing and impaling weapons to keep the enemy at arms length. To counter the Surabhi attempts of bridged boarding parties, the Sanghar have taken up the use of Bolas and net-launchers to entangle the heavily armoured Surabhi and allow them more easily to be dispatched. Portable fire siphons - which are a mainstay of land warfare - may also be used rarely, although usually this is a tool of last resort, the risks of disastrous backfiring being too costly for most Sanghar captains to risk.

Another factor two in Sanghara’s naval dominance emerge in the Sargael, a sub-population of semi-aquatic Sanghar who seem to have been an experiment of some sort by the ancient Ashammai to improve upon their prior design. Being amphibious and with a keen understanding of the waters, Sargael are often involved in the establishment of canal cities, pearl and coral diving, spear-fishing and wreck recovery, along with other aspects of Sanghar life. In naval terms however, the Sargael, with their keen locational senses are able to act as advanced scouts for their fleet, or saboteurs of enemy ships, drilling through the bottom of their hulls to flounder them. Carrying obsidian bladed tombak, they are particularly dangerous in the water. A Primitive coast-guard has also evolved amongst Sargael of Shanrilaath, and they are often essential in recovering goods and survivors of sinking ships, and protecting against commercial loss - although even they cannot go into the true bottom of the airless Ebon Sea.

Beyond the military capabilities of the Sangharan navy, the vast majority of their ships are designed for trade and goods transportation, outnumbering the standing fleet by thirty times their number. This vast merchant navy provides a vital reserve to the Sangharan’s navy, to be called upon and conscripted in hours of need - although this has happened perhaps less than six times in the Republic’s history. Although bulky and cumbersome, the ships of the merchant fleet provide a stolid defensive bulwark against many attackers, although have proven to be better used in mass due to mainly being designed for pirate attacks. Nevertheless, their broad decks can host a veritable legion of archers to beset the enemy with barbed and flaming arrows, and jury rigged scorpions have proven to be just as effective on their steady ship-bows. Regardless, these ships are rarely called to action as mentioned before, and are more commonly escorted by private or national warships if in sufficient convoys and on lengthy enough journeys, where the dangers of unpatrolled waters give rise to the sapient floatsam of the world.

Piracy, ever the trade and the bane of the Sangharan is an ever-present threat to the peacefulness and placidity of their waters, and when not warring with the Surabhi, the main focus on the navy is in culling its worst excesses. Nevertheless, Sanghar pirates have many of the same talents - if not the same funding - as their national counterparts, and have proven an ever-present thorn in the side of all Vendhayathan nations and beyond. Occasionally Sanghara has expanded their territorial reach to occupy pirate havens such as Tel-Gorgossos and Tel-Vaddanai, but the control they exert has rarely lasted long - in part due to the endemic warfare on the continental mainland which consumes time and resources of both nations. Regardless, in between the Century Wars and the bitter tit-for-tat raiding on the continental mainland by seasoned privateers and corsairs in the nations employ, the primary great wars on the sea are the Pirate Wars, fought unceasingly and with just as little sign of ending as the nation conflicts.

Sangharan Fire: Utilising unique and ancient magic in combination with deep alchemical knowledge, the Sangharan's have mastered the creation and weaponisation of a fell substance known as Sangharan Fire. This substance is cast from great bronze siphons on-board their ships in devastating volleys that incinerates wood and melts flesh and steel like butter. The use of such a devastating weapon in combination with their immense nautical knowledge have rendered the Sangharans relatively invincible within their native waters of the Ebon and Indaskian Seas, their power only checked by their ever-belligerent adversary in Surabhumi and the loss of their most magic rich provinces which prohibits its production.

Legacy of the Century Wars: (+4 to Land Power tree traits) The Sangharan's have battled their ancient adversary over many long centuries across the length and breadth of Vehndathaya. In that time they have learned from their mistakes and improved upon their doctrines, creating an increasingly formidable military. Still, against the might of Surabhumi all their experience has increasingly come to nought in the endless struggle for dominance. The Surabhi secrets of steel furthermore remains elusive to the Sangharans, who make up for it with the use of Bellitan Bronze instead, although the quality of a product akin Ukkayan Steel seems ever beyond their grasp.

Fragmented Vedas: Due to the loss of certain books of lore detailing the Old Empires utilisation of war magic following the destruction of the heartland- and the suitable and forbidden techniques therein, -Sangharan magical prowess is far more limited to their works of biomancy and other indirect means of expression. Without the rediscovery of Ishareth's holy word upon its use, the Sangharan's will lag behind in magical research used for direct military means. (Slower, more costly and more difficult advancements in the war magic branch of the Magical Sophistication tech tree.)

FOREIGN RELATIONS-
The Sangharan Republic's relations with other nations vary from place to place, but primarily consist of at least an amicable trade relationship with other states, which Sanghara has no interest in disrupting. Generally the relationship with the Vendhayathan nations is more adversarial due to competing interests between Sanghara and Surabhumi, with relations with the Dragon Empire of Nam Leng is tense and unfriendly, and Jatapu and Odhisa are wary.

Surabhumi: Regarded As Sanghara’s archenemy, and main competitor in the control of the Vendhayathan subcontinent. Current foreign relations have just exited a long period of intermittent raiding and low level warfare and are now cool as both nations begin to regain control of their lost territories.

Arcana: regarded as a fair weather friend and not greatly relied on, Arcana does however have a sizeable pro-Sangharan faction in its court politics and receives substantial funding and commercial traffic from Sanghara - primarily in the interest of keeping Arcana neutral in Sanghara’s affairs.

The Dragon Empire of Nam Leng: Nam Leng has a hostile relationship with both Surabhumi and Sanghara as a result of the pressure it feels as a mid state between two great powers. It tries to balance its diplomacy in order to maintain its independence, to varying degrees of success. The main point of contention - as Sanghara has not attempted an annexation of Nam Leng in well over half a millennia - is the near constant pressure the state feels as a result of Sangharan piracy - a matter the Republic uses as a bargaining chip for good behaviour.

Land Area: 7
Land Fertility: 10 (-3)
Development: 20 (+6)
Land Power: 12 (-4)
Naval Power: 20 (+1)
Economy: 20 (+2)
Magical Reserves: 9 (+6)
Magical Sophistication: 15(-3)
Population (Determined by other rolls): 30,000,000

Location:
Aseophin lies near the centre of the world at the heart of a mighty bay that has become the centrepiece for their civilization.

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Climate:
Most of Aseophin experiences mild winter weather with the temperature rarely dipping below freezing and generous amounts of rain. The summers can be ferociously hot and heavy weather batters the coast throughout the season.

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Terrain:
A land of endless sun drenched sea cliffs, small white sand beaches, jagged mountains, deep rivers, bottomless sinkholes, and sparse forests.

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Population Distribution:
Aseophins are concentrated entirely around the great harbour that makes up the powerbase of their growing trade empire.

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Natural Hazards:
Not everything in Aseophin can kill you. It wants to, but it just cant. The locals have learned how to navigate the natural hazards in land formations and wildlife. There are several volcanos, and many sinkholes lie hidden by the forest, natural pitfalls for the unwary.

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Population:
25,000,000 Aseophin

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Nationality:
Aseophin

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Racial Demographics:
Aseophin are roughly of human height, standing from 5'5" – 6'1" (1.65 – 1.85 meters) on average, but are lighter, weighing from 130 – 180 lbs. (59 – 82 kg). Even exceptionally strong Aseophin look rather slim compared with other races, looking athletic rather than muscular. Most Aseophin are blue-skinned on their back, moving to a lighter blue or even white on their stomach. Occasionally darker colours or even a almost stripped look with a third colour finds its way into the gene pool. None of the Aseophin have any sort of noticeable body hair. All have varying degree of fins, ridges, or even full on crests - some with small lights that help them see in the darkest waters. Webbed hands and feet are found among all the tribes.

Aseophin grow at a decelerating rate throughout their lives. Very young Aseophin mature at a rate comparable with humans but during adolescence slow to a near stop until about 110 years of age, at which point they are considered mature. Aseophin then remain vigorous and active until the middle of their third century. Even so, after this, most Aseophin suffer few of the infirmities of old age that plague other races, remaining full of life until the end.

The shape of their heads can vary as well, from a triangle shape to fragile beauty coupled with tentacles forming a type of hair. Aseophin eye are most commonly black, with some possessing purple or even gold. They are able to see as well underwater as they are above it. This harkens back to the original tribes that joined together to create the Free Folk who now call themselves the Aseophin. While it is possible for the various tribes to engage in sexual activity with each other, any offspring will be of the same physical appearance as their mother.

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Language(s):
Aseophin

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Faith:
Aseophin worship Ahti, the Goddess of the Ocean and the Great Deep. Prayers and sacrifies to the Goddess are offered at Temples built into caves and caverns along the cliffs so that the ocean can rush into them during the high tide. When a Aseophin dies, their body is Returned to Ahti, a ritual where the deceased is allowed to be washed out to sea where it is consumed by the ocean. Unlike humans, Aseophin bodies do not bloat after death, rather they sink immediately and are lost to the ocean. float when they die, rather they sink like a stone.

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Age Structure:
Aseophin have been known to live nearly five hundred years.

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Education:
Education is considered a gift for all Aseophin and none are denied the ability to study to their hearts content. The literacy rate is 100% among the Aseophin and many consider it a great achievement to learn and expand their knowledge beyond the basics expected of them by society.

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Government Type:
The Aseophin are ruled by the Chosen, three Elders selected by Ahti herself. Each Elder holds their position for thirty years, though one of their number is replaced every ten years, thus ensuring a consistent evolution of leadership.

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Capital:
Name: Anahita
Detailed Notes: The City of Anahita was once nothing more than a safe haven for the Aseophin. The first of the tribes found small passageways through which they could swim to enter an awe-inspiring natural opening in the earth, hemmed in on all sides by cliffs, caverns, and waterfalls. The space was large enough to fit every tribe with room to spare, all the while protecting the inhabitants from weather and natural predators. It has since become a become a sprawling city of unrivalled beauty and watery delights.

At first glance the City of Anahita is near invisible. A giant band of cliffs march away in either direction broken only by a pair of great carved passageways large enough to accommodate any ship afloat at low tide. Guarded by great ship-breaking chains and a thousand murder holes through which fire can be poured, the entrances themselves are a feat all to their own.

Any visitor, once clear of the initial defences, will find themselves in the Grand Harbour - a space made only larger by the addition of fortifications on the clifftops. Here there is enough space for several hundred ships to find anchorage amid a dozen small islands, each of them a small fortress in its own right, all built to protect the shipping within.

The Grand Harbour is the largest of nearly a hundred such sinkholes and grottos that the Aseophin have slowly developed and built into a sprawling cavern city. All are connected by passageways, both above and below the water; making of the city is impossible for non-Aseophin to access without help from the locals.

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Flag:

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Economy:
Taking and keeping control of long distance trade necessitated new means and measures of checking and controlling. When the Aseophin made the decision to move beyond their new home and into the proverbial sunlight, they began a "commercial revolution" with its new cultural, organizational forms, not to forget with its new ways of living, lead to a never before seen predominance of economy, especially as the economically minded Aseophin families were at the same time incorporated in the vehicles of political power. Economic success attracted - as ever - thousands of folk, amongst them lots of artisans with capabilities of utmost importance. Refining and melioration, this allowing new products to develop.

Aseophin has worked to ensure nations concede privileges to the Aseophin traders, when they are in heavy political constraints. Combined with the early reduction of barter and a strong position of money-mediated trade. A long learning-process that lead to a rudimentary economic policy started, including patent protection, promotion of trade, but strategic help for the flux and leave of capital and metals. This provided the backbone of free trade and of the convoys of large ships sent to the markets around the world. In addition it offered lots of opportunities to regulate the local balances of power and secured partly the means of living for Aseophin herself.

The city can finance its everyday duties through tariffs, but in difficult times it rigidly makes recourse to the estate and capital of the thousand rich families. Money in its core mostly consists of gold or silver. As a consequence the economy depends heavily on the timely afflux and efflux of these metals. Aseophin has had to develop a highly flexible system of currencies and change rates between coins consisting of silver and gold in order to preserve and enhance its role as platform and turntable of international trading. In addition the change rates between the currencies circulating within Aseophin and outside had to be adjusted adequately.

In addition, trading is used as a means of payment, which can help avoid transportation of gold and silver, which are expensive and dangerous. Crediting became a way to bridge the ubiquitous lack of noble metals, and at the same time, to accelerate goods turnover; were it with the help of a simple bank transfer; were it with the aid of a bill of exchange. Also available and helpful were to float loans, used as a kind of traders' money, circulating from hand to hand.

Despite the predominance of intermediary trade, ship building is an industry of utmost importance right from the beginning - and it is by far the most important employer.

Shipping: Aseophin vessels can be found in every sea, in every port, and they carry any cargo you can imagine. For hire to complete almost any task, they come with world renowned speed, the protection of the Aseophin fleet, and the knowledge that your goods are in the safest webbed hands they can be. It is not unknown for Aseophin vessels to openly flaunt blockades due to their speed.

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Land Forces:
Aseophin maintains a small professional army that provides more than adequate protection within its own borders. This force is perpetually locked in combat with the savage creatures that live on the fringes, beyond the settled lands, and in the ocean itself. This includes more primitive Merpeople that attempt to feed on anything and everything. There is a focus on heavy infantry and flatbow archers. There are no mounted units as the terrain makes them utterly impractical.

Aseophin relies on mercenaries for cavalry, siege equipment, and light troops. These more often than not, ironically, are hired from their primary trading rival, Drakon.

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Naval Forces:
Aseophin vessels are often called ships for the ease of use, but nothing could be further from the truth when they are encountered. Using flesh crafting skills and the power of crystal energy, the Aseophin have created flesh-ships from the carcass of a whale and other deep sea creatures. The constructs are then fitted with with bronze emplacements for heavy broadsides of lightening.

The lightening weapons, designed to cause damage without the risk of burning their own vessels, had been accomplished using crystals as a catalyst - a mass of energy built within the devices - and released through the bronze emplacements. The effect is a devastating explosion of energy to rival even a Sanghara broadside. Propelled by construct flagella, they are among the fastest vessels on the surface of the ocean.

Aseophin has built a considerable fleet despite the nations comparatively small size. Over a thousand ships serve Aseophin at this time, securing trade routes, battling pirates, and defending home waters.

The true punch of the Aseophin fleet lies within its boarding forces. The Aseophin are naturally gifted swimmers and can quickly cross large distances with great speed underwater to strike at an enemy vessel. Like humans, the Aseophin are welcome food source for natural predators beneath the waves and must take the same precautions any human diver might to remain uneaten.

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Drakon: While the two merchant states are nominally competitors, they maintain a mutual stranglehold on two key markets, the slave and salt trades. Though they come to blows from time to time, the two economic powerhouses are known to set aside their differences when threats arise to their trade networks. In the immortal words of the Elder Council, "Why have enemies when you can have friends?"

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WIP

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Land Area: 4 (Minus 10)
Land Fertility: 9
Development: 20 (Plus six)
Land Power: 6
Naval Power: 20 (Swapped with Magic)
Economy: 20 (Plus 3)
Magical Reserves: 12 (Plus one)
Magical Sophistication: 17 (Plus seven) (+4 Traits)

The Light of Aseophin: An ancient people with deep magical roots, the Aseophin have mastered the creation and weaponization of lightening as a weapon. Using a crystal power source, and the great bronze culverins on-board their vessels, they are able to unleash devastating attacks at range against enemy targets. The impact of such a weapon blasts holes through wood, melt steel, and can serve to electrocute anyone in the water, or touching nearby metal. In some cases the intense heat can cause wood to burst into flames. This has made the Aseophin untouchable in their home waters and one of the deadliest sea going peoples in the known world.

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Creatures of the Deep: (+4 to Magical Sophistication) The very survival of the Aseophin depended on their ability to not only evade, but also to combat the creatures of the deep. There are plenty of savage deep sea denizens that are capable of destroying a full sized warship with ease and, being a sea faring people - and not much interested in heights - the Aseophin have mastered the art of creating flesh-constructs from the carcasses of dead sea beasts. Through powerful manipulation, and some blood, tears, and torn fins, the Aseophin have succeeded in turning them into vessels of war and trade.

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Landsick: The Aseophin are not land dwellers. They survive well enough in their deep caves, caverns, and ocean carved grottos, but on land they are uneasy and tend to fall ill very quickly. No Aseophin likes to go beyond the sight of water, though some have been known to swim far up rivers and into lakes deep in the interior. Even Aseophin taken as slaves are quick to perish it they are not provided access to a natural water source. You will never see an army of Aseophin on land.

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Land Area: 6
Land Fertility: 12
Development: 9
Land Power: 17
Naval Power: 2
Economy: 4
Magical Reserves: 7
Magical Sophistication: 1

Land Area: 7
Land Fertility: 6
Development: 15
Land Power: 13
Naval Power: 3
Economy: 19
Magical Reserves: 5
Magical Sophistication: 1

Land Area: 12
Land Fertility: 6
Development: 17
Land Power: 11
Naval Power: 3
Economy: 10
Magical Reserves: 8
Magical Sophistication: 6

Land Area: 5
Land Fertility: 20
Development: 1
Land Power: 15
Naval Power: 4
Economy: 14
Magical Reserves: 4
Magical Sophistication: 5

Land Area: 2
Land Fertility: 6
Development: 15
Land Power: 9
Naval Power: 1
Economy: 3
Magical Reserves: 16
Magical Sophistication: 15

Land Area: 4
Land Fertility: 9
Development: 12
Land Power: 10
Naval Power: 1
Economy: 7
Magical Reserves: 10
Magical Sophistication: 10

Land Area: 2
Land Fertility: 10
Development: 9
Land Power: 5
Naval Power: 14
Economy: 9
Magical Reserves: 7
Magical Sophistication: 2

Land Area: 4
Land Fertility: 10
Development: 1
Land Power: 12
Naval Power: 1
Economy: 4
Magical Reserves: 20
Magical Sophistication: 4

Land Area: 3
Land Fertility: 10
Development: 10
Land Power: 10
Naval Power: 1
Economy: 10
Magical Reserves: 10
Magical Sophistication: 1

The Too'ave:
The Too'ave (or Beastmen as they are better known) as a people were created eon's ago by a minor empire that has been forgotten to history. Rich and powerful in magic, the ruling class of the Forgotten Empire decided to employ their talents to make... alterations to those who made up the lower stones of society in order to make them better suited to handle the tasks required of them. The process was not uniform; The magi of the Empire were largely free to experiment as they wished and a combination of different beliefs about what tool was right for a job or differing circumstances resulted in many different kind of beastmen being created from a wide range of animals for the same basic job of their caste.

Rather than try to intervene and regulate what animals were to be used when creating beastmen, the ruling class of the Empire had a different idea; While nature was a good source of inspiration to draw from, time and circumstances would be where the true gems would be found among the filth. Therefor, it became law that the magi creating beastmen would go the extra step and ensure that their creations would be able to cross breed with each other and produce offspring. The theory was that traits that proved positive for working within a caste would thrive and pass on to the next generation while the less useful would slowly be faded out with time... and if the cream of the crop were to crossbred, that would result in children better suited for their role in life then their parents.

While the regulations and laws of the Forgotten Empire were discarded when the Empire met its brutally swift end, their decision to allow the different species of Beastmen to be able to interbreed with each other regardless of what animal they were originally based on resulted in the Too'ave: Due to eons of crossbreeding and the size of the original number of animals that the Beastmen were based on, grouping the Too'ave in sub-categorizes by species is not possible. The 'standard' Too'ave is an amalgamation of different animal traits that they have inherited from their ancestors (normally related to their caste, but love and lust have played their role in history). Most are humanoid to various degrees, but other body structures aren't that uncommon (with quadrupedal Too'ave being the most common of these deviations).

Too'ave (and by extension, Tushina) culture and society is built on the idea of castes. Their ancestors were forcefully changed from their original forms in order to serve the Forgotten Empire by fulfilling a certain task that the beastman was suited for. Originally what caste someone belonged to was reasonably simple to figure out: Beastmen of animals better suited for working underground were apart of the labor caste as miners while beastmen of big, strong predators like wolves and bears were generally in the military caste.

Time, crossbreeding and the destruction of the Forgotten Empire have forced the Too'ave to perform a number of reforms to what was originally a very simple caste system created by their former masters in order to adjust to their changing circumstances over the years. The two major ones that have shaped current day Tushina are recorded in history as 'The question of leadership' and 'The question of individual abilities'.

'The Question of Leadership' is the title of the period of history in relation to the destruction of the forgotten empire and the founding of the republic of Tushina. When the beastmen were originally created and sorted into castes, the original rulers of the Forgotten Empire were the ruling caste by default... their sudden destruction due to their lust for more power and greed removed a key pillar of society regardless of what the Beastmen of the day actually thought of them. The following years were a somewhat chaotic and savage time as the various legions of the military caste found themselves lacking higher leadership to unite them and the skills required to get the supplies needed to survive and function as a fighting force.

Each legion had to come up with an answer to this problem on their own. Some gathered what resources they could (either by purchasing supplies from their fellow beastmen... or just outright sacking them for it) and left for other lands intentions that ranged from becoming mercenary bands to outright conquering and subjugating a new home for themselves or die trying. Others stayed closer to home, offering the other castes protection from outside threats in exchange for resources and food and creating their own city states (ranging from peaceful co-existence between the castes due to diplomatically uniting to the legion outright enslaving the other castes and ruling as despots).

This period would last less then fifty years, with minor wars breaking out with relatively regular frequency. The reason for this relatively short period of unrest and division had everything to do with diplomacy. The Too'ave city states that were founded more by diplomatic means and generally had better relations between the castes were inclined to reach out and be friendly with each other, often having trade deals and defensive pacts against their more self absorbed, despot neighbors who only really interacted with them when they waged brief wars to try and claim resources or raids to enslave some fresh blood while the more despot city states were more concerned about keeping their slaves from rebelling and paranoid about raids trying to steal their hard earned slave labor.

The more diplomatic city states banded together and over the next few decades would take advantage of the distrust of their more tyrant like neighbors to pick them off one by one, invading and liberating their fellow Too'ave. When the last hold out fell and the Too'ave city states were united, the matter of what happened next was raised. After some debate, an answer was reached; They would create a new government to unite them all. However rather then create a designated ruling class, they decided on a method that would ensure that all Too'ave would have some degree of a say in how they were lead.

Every caste in every city would elect three representatives that would represent not only their caste, but also their city and the surrounding lands. The first representatives would serve for five years... before one seat in each of the city castes would go up for re-election. The following year the second of the three caste seats would go up for re-election and the last seat would be voted for the year after. The idea was that by only having a third of the governing body being voted for at a time over three years instead of all at once ever five, the desires and needs of the people would be reflected and refreshed by the introduction of new blood and ideas but without having to uproot the government completely and causing a period of confusion that risks undoing any work or projects that were being worked on at the time.

'The question of individual abilities' was a social movement that came about due to the city state period in Tushina's history. Originally even without the Forgotten Empire enforcing the caste hierarchy, the various castes tended to select their partners among their own caste: It was just practical to hook up with those you spent almost all your time with anyway and your children would be better suited to your lifestyle.

However, the age of city states prior to Tushina forming caused some... issues with the old system. In places where all the castes were on good terms and worked together, there were always the odd pair of lovers who found each other across the caste divide. In despot held cities the military ruling class more or less just laid claim to whomever they bloody well wanted as their whims dictated.

The result of all this were offspring who were less specialized for a given caste, but in return also were a bit more versatile in what they could do. What to do with these 'casteless' children was a matter of debate among the first incarnation of the Tushina's republican government. Sadly, it would take almost twenty years before a compromise outcome between the more conservative and liberal members of Tushina was reached.

The caste system would remain, but Too'ave would not be born into a caste. Instead, when they reached maturity they would elect to join a Caste that they believed would best suit themselves and their talents. Swapping castes during this 'probation' period was allowed, but normally someone would find their place in society before they reached full adulthood.

An important part of Too'ave culture that needs to be understood is their seeming rejection of magic despite the sizeable amount of crystal within their boarders. Part of this had to do with their masters in the Forgotten Empire going to great lengths to make sure that their beastmen slaves/servants didn't understand how to use magic in order to prevent them from using it against them, but the main reason that the Too'ave don't pursue magic beyond the most basic of rituals is because of the fate of their former masters.

When the Forgotten Empire dug to deeply and ended up reducing the former heartland of their empire into a chaotic magical hellscape that is -still- dangerous to visit to this day the Too'ave might not understand exactly what happened to cause it, but they understood enough to know that it was because of magic and thus they developed a -very- healthy respect for it. Enough so that they generally leave it the hell alone. There is an industry to mine the crystal for the tiny amount that they use for themselves and some that they trade to other kingdoms, but it is heavily regulated and kept to an absolute minimum.

Religion wise, Tushina doesn't have one. Turns out knowing who created you and why takes a lot of the guesswork out of life. The closest thing to it is a debate that comes up every now and then: Did the Magi of the Forgotten Empire create them by taking animals and turning them into humanoids, or did they take humans and infuse them with animals? Despite some rather intense debate on the subject, no one actually knows the answer for sure since any record of the truth that might have survived is currently smack dab in the middle of a blighted magical hell that no one is inclined to go and investigate.

That said, each of the Castes have their own spiritual quirks that have been developed over a period of time. These beliefs tend to be limited to their parent caste simple because they tend to relate to the day to day life of the members of the caste in question while rarely being something that other castes need to concern themselves with, but most Too'ave will have at least a general idea of the habits of other castes even if they don't understand the meaning behind them.

For example:

The Military Caste have something of ancestor worship kind of deal going on. Out of all the castes, they are the ones who care the most about those who came before them due to the fact that they actually have some of the oldest records of Too'ave kind via the legion songs. Each legion has their own collection of songs in relation to their history, be it battles they've won or lost, heroes of the legion, ect... some of which date back to the time of the Forgotten Empire when the Too'ave weren't allowed to record their history physically. As such, each Legion has its own collection of battle saints and paragons who the current members of the Legion view as how to be an ideal champion of the Military Caste.

While each legion has their own patron paragons, the Military Caste makes the effort to have all of them known and pay respects to them all as the 'Paragons'... including the Unknown Champion. The Caste knows that due to the natures of oral tradition and war that the songs of many champions and heroes of the legions were lost and unable to be recovered... so they created the Unknown Champion as a symbolic representative of those who's efforts, sacrifices and triumphs are no longer sung about.

Meanwhile, the Merchant Caste are the most religious of all of the Castes since they have a habit of collecting deities from the civilizations that they trade with: Namely, they collect deities that promote trade or protect merchants/travelers/ the innocent. They don't see an issue with having a mixture of shrines or churches to their adopted patrons since due to the nature of these deities it would be strange if they didn't at least have a professional working relationship with each other as individuals. While individual Merchant Caste members might have their own personal patron deity, most will happily give other deities the Caste has adopted some praise every now and then.

There are two primary reasons that they have adopted such a stance. The first is that it tends to be beneficial to understand the beliefs and values of ones trading partners in order to tailor trading deals and business arrangements so as to be more appealing to them as well as earning a degree of goodwill by having knowledge and worshiping a shared god. The second is that there is no real harm in the practice and a little bit of divine good will could be the difference between a bountiful shipment and utter disaster.

Each Caste has their own little quirks, making Tushina's cities something of a mixture of different culture that were all created by the Too'ave in Tushina.

??? - Birth and service of the Too'ave.
The Too'ave do not know exactly when they were created since they were not allowed to pursue things like education or the history of the now named Forgotten Empire. Nor do they know how long exactly they served their former masters. They understood the concept of time and thus knew that they served their masters for years, if not centuries but their masters refused to let the beastmen make historical records of their own.

Year 0: The destruction of the Forgotten Empire.
The Forgotten Empire prided itself on its mastery of magic and the raw amount of it that it had access to. Their pride and greed for power would be their undoing in the end; They mined their heartland for crystal to deeply, causing a catastrophe that consumed the heart of the Empire in a hellish, chaotic storm of magic. The Too'ave (or beastmen as they were known at the time) largely survived the incident because they were on the fringes of the empire. As the lower castes in charge of the down to earth tasks that kept the Empire running, they were doing their jobs when the capital ceased to exist.

Year 1-50 (ish?): The Question of Leadership.
Better known as the warring city states period of Tushnia's history, without the guidance or resources from the ruling caste of the Empire to unite them anymore, the various legions of the military caste were forced to ask the question of how they were going to survive now since their only real talent was combat. The 'answer' to the problem often came down to the legion in question.

Some gathered supplies in one way or another and went to find their fortunes elsewhere, be it as mercenaries or as conquerors. Most however stayed 'closer to home' and tended to make arrangements with members of the other Castes with various degrees of diplomacy, good will... or just straight up force depending on the legion in question. Thus began the warring city states period.

The period came to an end around fifty years later (the exact year is up for debate), due to the more diplomatic minded city states joining forces and picking off the despot cities whenever an opening presented itself to liberate their fellow Too'ave.

When the last city fell, the victors discussed amongst themselves what to do now... and as a result, formed the Republic of Tushina.

More to be added with time.

While far from the strongest economy in the world and by no means the greatest of traders, Tushina's caste system does have its benefits when it comes to the distribution of wealth. While all Castes go to get efforts to provide bountiful employment to all of its members at all times, sometimes that is just not possible... So in order to ensure that all citizens are taken care of and can survive just fine, every year each citizen gets paid from the government a sum of money that, while by no means is enough to thrive, is more then enough to cover basic costs such as shelter and food for the year.

Due to the fact that each Too'ave deeply wants to fulfill the role that their caste asks of them, the idea of simply taking this payment and not giving anything back is unthinkable to them. Free from the stresses of having to earn enough to cover food or to pay rent, the Too'ave are some of the happiest workers on the face of the planet... and with the additional funds that they earn via working, they are general free to purchase things or improve their living conditions. While Tushina isn't the wealthiest of nations, its wealth is spread out to all rungs of society rather then being concentrated up near the top.

Tushina's location is part of the reason for its strength then it comes to trade. There are only two ways into the lands east of Tushina: Be side or through Tushina itself. It is the only land route into the frozen lands beyond... and the former heartland of the Forgotten Empire. Both of these attractions actually provide plenty of trade benefits, since the former is home to certain animals and plants that simply do not grow down in the warmer areas of the south. As for the latter... the magically blighted lands offer a grave risk to explorers who do not know the frozen land, but having lived in the shadow of their master's grave for centuries the Too'ave have more then a solid idea of where the boundaries between life and uncertain death lay.

This is important, because the heartlands of the Forgotten Empire back before it was blighted were incredibly wealthy with magic, machine and treasures that were all lost to the world when the Empire destroyed itself out of greed for more. While most of these things are still lost to the fallout and are beyond salvaging range, after a few centuries the edges of the ruined empire have recovered enough that those brave enough and knowledgeable about how far they can safely go can collect enough treasures of the fallen empire to make a sizable fortune. The Too'ave tend to do much better then explorers and collectors at avoiding having their skin turned inside out... or having their skin independently come alive and wanting to consume the rest of the person... or turning into a living gingerbread man.

They also export some of their magical crystal... but not much. Despite their land having access to large stockpile of the stuff, Tushina heavily regulates mining it in order to try and avoid what happened to the east repeating yet again.

There is a small joke that is told in Tushina.

The Republic of Tushina doesn't have an army. The Tushinain army has a nation.

The military caste of Tushina has long played a major role in shaping the development of the nation. Not only were they instrumental in ending the warring states period and uniting the Too'ave to be stronger then ever, but the very period itself was brought about by the splintering of the legions when the Forgotten Empire ceased to exist. Once the republic was formed, the military caste would be one of the founding castes and would always have a part to play in the politics of the nation centuries later.

To be apart of the military caste of Tushina is to be apart of the oldest, most prestigious of the castes while marching in one of the greatest land armies the world has ever known.

It did not start out that way.

The beastmen were originally created to be cheap, disposable but effective cannon fodder for the Forgotten Empire's armies. They weren't given any training or equipment and those poor bastards originally created who weren't completely driven into a bloodthirsty insanity by the process were either drugged or altered a little more with magic in order to get them in the right mindset to be pointed at a target with the expression intention of killing as much of it as possible before being taken down.

As the process started to be more refined, the Magi creating the beastmen started to notice that their creations weren't completely mindless. Some didn't care and just did the whole berserk thing they had done before, but some of them decided to experiment to see if their creations could be made into proper solders. The results were so overwhelmingly successful that beastmen for things other then military applications were created and the Too'ave came to be.

Once it became clear that the beastmen could be made into amazing foot solders rather then just being 'organized' into hordes to be thrown at the enemy, instead they were actually given some basic training and equipment before being organized into legions. While initially the legions were little more then just what beastmen were available to be thrown into military groups to make up the numbers, with time and war the legions started to develop their own sense of identities and histories. While they were banned from writing down their histories, the legions developed an oral tradition of song in order to remember their victories, defeats and the glories of heroes of the legion in question.

Despite the fickle nature of war and the ease in which things passed down orally can be lost, there are some modern day Tushina legions that managed to preserve some of the songs from the time of serving in the Forgotten Empire, giving them the prestige of having a legion that not only has managed to survive for centuries but was also old enough that the risk of losing its history after one bad day was a serious concern. Once they could actually write down their history they did so and continue to do so to this day, but even the modern day legions continue to right and sing the songs of their legion's achievements.

The modern day military caste of Tushina has had centuries to develop and refine itself into one of the strongest fighting forces on the planet. While the legions themselves still maintain their own identity and favored tactics, the crossbreeding and development of different traits makes fighting a Too'ave solder a nightmare for most other armies for the simple fact that no two Too'ave are exactly alike and they don't know what exactly the solder in front of them can actually do or what weapons they have access to.

Claws and fangs are fairly common and some tails can be employed in combat in ways that the average human fail to account for, but once you start taking venom and poison into account and the fact that some of them can actually spit acid alongside a whole range of other tactics and tricks that nature has provided and even veteran solders who have earned their veteran status fighting Too'ave don't fully know what to expect in the next encounter.

Compared to the army, the Tushina navy is actually a more recent development.

Unlike with the use of magic, which is heavily regulated due to a deep seated cultural fear, the Too'ave lacked a navy for quite a long time simply because... they didn't have one nor did they really know how to produce one.

While the Forgotten Empire was fairly liberal when it came to creating different types of beastmen to fill in certain roles in society, for reasons that are not entirely clear they never produced beastmen to take over naval operations. Maybe they didn't want beastmen to be able to sail ships to prevent forces from moving quickly in the event of an uprising? Maybe they did make attempts to create ocean based beastmen but the results were either not promising or outright troublesome? No one knows the reason, but since the beastmen had no experience with sailing they had no naval caste in place when the Forgotten Empire self destructed.

This was followed by the warring states period of Tushina's history, which was for lack of a better term a land locked civil war. Once Tushina was formed, there were no Too'ave's alive that had any knowledge of ship building or how to sail the seas.

Despite the rather late start to learning how to produce ships, sail or battle on water, Tushina has spent the years since its foundation wisely in many regards and learning how to do all three of the above was high on its to do list. By no means would anyone call their fleet world shaking, but considering where they started the current result is actually rather respectable.

Nature is venomous:
If there is one thing about nature that is consistent, it is that venom is a tool that it employs in lots of interesting and often fatal ways. Due to the way that Too'ave inherit animal traits, almost all of them have some kind of venom to some degree. The exact effects of said venom various from Too'ave to Too'ave, since the end result is often a mixture of whatever venomous creatures makes up their biology. This makes curing a Too'ave's venom somewhat difficult since a total cure requires accounting for all of the different venomous creatures that make up the Too'ave: Figuring out that you need the anti-venom of a certain breed of snake doesn't help you if you don't have the anti-venom to counter the other equally poisonous reptile that is killing you.

Nature is Strong... but hungry:
It was no secret that the original Beastmen were primary created for war and hard labor. While variations would be created with time and development, that raw physical power still lingers in the Too'ave to this day. However, tapping into such raw physical power comes at a cost. While all Too'ave -can- become physically walking powerhouses that match any human demi god, only those in the military and labor castes are inclined to do so: The stronger a Too'ave physically gets, so too does their hunger for meat. While cooked is preferred, it isn't strange for the strongest of Too'ave champions to have a reputation for eating those they have slain raw during a battle. (-3 to Land Fertility due to needing a larger meat diet)

Built for War:
Since the original Beastmen were created to be weapons of war, even after the creation of several non combatant castes there has always been a degree of that old war like mentality in the physical form of all beastmen... even if mentally such an idea was laughable. Too'ave have +4 points towards the Land Power tree.

Monstrous to behold:
The Too'ave standards of beauty are very different from those of other species. The most beautiful or handsome of the Too'ave would, in the eyes of a human (or humanoids that weren't animal based enough) would at best be akin to staring into the unnerving abyss of the uncanny valley... and at worst be mistaken for one of the magically created horrors that are known to prowl the blighted lands of former magical empires that dug to deeply into their crystal mines. The only exception to the rule are the Merchant and Diplomatic castes, who's Too'ave have gone to get lengths to breed a cute, cuddly and socially acceptable physical form so they can mingle with other kingdoms.

Blood of a Predator:
The Tushina army is one of the greatest to walk the face of the planet. Despite their appearances they are more then just savage beasts, having had centuries to refine their training and discipline processes in order to produce some of the greatest solders to ever exist. However, no amount of training or discipline would ever truly be able to completely override some of the animal instincts that linger at the deep, dark core of the Too'ave of the military caste.

While they can (and will) fight large scale battles, the truth of the matter is that the Too'ave fight best as a small pack then at what other kingdoms deem a military unit. Predatory instinct haunts the Too'ave with a simple equation: The more predators that take down a kill, the less meat there will be for the individual predators. While this sense doesn't stop them from acting as a army, when it comes to the combat itself the size of a Tushina 'warpack' varies on the experience of the Too'ave who make it up. A bunch of rookie Too'ave in their first few proper battles might band together in a group of four to five (through six isn't completely unheard of, even if it is rare in practice) while more veteran Too'ave might team up in packs of two or three. The greatest legends of the Too'ave military caste are the monstrous predators who can stalk the battlefield alone and not only survive but thrive there.

Land Area: 8 (-9)
Land Fertility: 12 (+5)(-3)
Development: 20 (+4)
Land Power: 20 (+6)
Naval Power: 8 (-1)
Economy: 15
Magical Reserves: 13
Magical Sophistication: 2